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Will Marvel Ever Shoot A Film In IMAX®?

Jul 22, 2014

Many of Hollywood’s biggest franchises — like “The Hunger Games,” “Transformers” and “Star Wars,” to name a few — have followed the example set by Christopher Nolan in “The Dark Knight” and filmed sequences in IMAX®.

So why hasn’t Marvel Studios?

The home of Captain America and Iron Man has never shot with IMAX® cameras, which would allow the film to fill the entire screen, despite just signing a formal partnership to present each of its movies in the large format through conversion. The partnership has, however, created other opportunities for both companies.

IMAX® president Greg Foster explained over the phone that this agreement has completely changed the way the two companies work together.

“Instead of doing Marvel movies on a one-off basis, we’re now a part of that universe if you will,” he said. “It means that when we have meetings with Marvel, we’re not simply looking for the next movie. There’s a long-term point of view. This was the first movie that had that.”

The first fruit of the agreement is a closer working relationship with James Gunn on “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Though Gunn didn’t film the latest Marvel movie in IMAX®, he consulted with the company to optimize the space epic for later conversion. Foster, when he speaks about the projects that use the company’s camera, emphasizes that IMAX’s first priority is relationships with the filmmakers. This explains why the movies that do shoot in the format are directed by a handful of people, usually J.J. Abrams, Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan.